READING

Public Libraries
A. The word public comes from a Latin word, publicus, meaning people. A public
library is for all the people in a community to use. It charges no fee for its services.
The public library will have available, within the limits of its budget, a wide
variety of books and other materials. These books or other materials may be
borrowed, or taken out for a specific time, by anyone in the community. The
library loans its materials.
B. Public libraries are usually tax-supported. There are a few that are instead
supported from money that has been donated. And there are some that receive port
of their money from taxes and part from gifts.
C. Few public libraries are exactly alike. Not only are the shapes and sizes of the
building different, but also are the number of books and other materials in each.
Your nearest library may be like the Los Angeles Public Library, which has over
4,538,458 books and bound periodicals (magazines and journals( in its collection.
Or it may be like the Cherokee County Public Library, which has only about 3,800
books in its collection.
D. Libraries vary in other ways, too, for instance, in the number of hours (or days)
they are open or in the number of people who work there. Most public libraries,
however, arrange their books and other materials in similar ways. They divide
their collection into two basic age groups, children and adult. Adult books are in
one place; children’s books are in another. The books are further separated by the
kind of books. Storybooks – works of fiction – are separated from information, or
fact books – nonfiction.
E. People often want to refer to, that is, look something up in a certain basic
information book. Thus reference books, which are rarely read cover to cover, are
put in a special place in the library, a reference section of perhaps a reference
room. Reference books are never to be taken out from the library building.
F. Each library decides for itself how it should further arrange its books and other
materials. In a large city library, certain nonfiction materials may be put into a
special area pr separate room. For instance, there may be a separate room just for
all the materials a library has on music. In another large city, the music materials
might not be kept so separate. It would depend on what the people in that city had
indicated they found useful.
G. A library’s holdings are everything the library has in its collection. These
holdings almost always reflect the community’s special interest. Suppose, for
example, there was a town where Morgan horses were widely raised and trained.
That town’s library would most likely have a great deal of material about Morgan
horses. Since the people who were interested in Morgan horses would probably be
less interested in other breeds of horses, the library might have only a small
amount of material on Mustangs or Appaloosas.
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Question 1-7: TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading
passage?
TRUE: if the statement agrees with the information.
FALSE: if the statement contradicts the information.
NOT GIVEN: if there is no information on this.
1. Public libraries are free for everyone living in the community to use.
2. Most public libraries are funded exclusively by private donations.
3. The Los Angeles Public Library has the largest collection of books in the United
States.
4. In most public libraries, books are organized based on the age of the readers.
5. Reference books can be borrowed for a short period of time if requested.
6. The way a library organizes its special collections often depends on the
preferences of the local people.
7. A library in a town known for horse breeding will definitely have more books on
Mustangs than Morgan horses.
Question 8-13: SENTENCE COMPLETION (ONE WORD ONLY)
Complete the sentences below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for
each answer.
8. The term “public” has its origins in a (8) ……………….. word meaning “people”.
9. Some libraries are funded by (9) ……………….. while others rely on tax money
or a combination of both.
10. Libraries can differ significantly in terms of their
physical (10) ……………….. and the size of their collections.
11. Fiction books, also known as (11) ……………….., are kept separately from
nonfiction books.
12. Because (12) ……………….. books are mainly used for looking up specific
information, they must remain inside the library building.
13. In large cities, certain materials, such as those related to (13) ………………..,
may be placed in a dedicated room.
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Passage 2:
Blind to Change
How much of the world around you do you really see?
Picture the following and prepare to be amazed. You’re walking across a college
campus when a stranger asks you for directions. While you’re talking to him, two men
pass between you carrying a wooden door. You feel a moment’s irritation, but you
carry on describing the route. When you’ve finished, you’re told you’ve just taken
part in a psychology experiment. “Did you notice anything after the two men passed
with the door?” the stranger asks. “No,” you reply uneasily. He explains that the man
who initially approached you walked off behind the door leaving him in his place.
The first man now rejoins you. Comparing them, you notice that they are of different
height and build and are dressed very differently.
Daniel Simons of Harvard University found that 50% of participants missed the
substitution because of what is called change blindness. When considered with a large
number of recent experimental results, this phenomenon suggests we see far less than
we think we do. Rather than logging every detail of the visual scene, says Simons, we
are actually highly selective. Our impression of seeing everything is just that. In fact,
we extract a few details and rely on memory, or even our imagination, for the rest.
Until recently, scientists believed that vision involved creating images within the
brain. By forming detailed internal representations of our surroundings and comparing
them over time, we could detect any alterations. However, in his book Consciousness
Explained, philosopher Daniel Dennett argued that our brains only store a few key
details about the world, which is why we can function effectively.
According to Dennett, creating elaborate images in short-term memory would
consume valuable cognitive resources. Instead, we record what has changed and
assume everything else remains unchanged. As a result, we inevitably overlook some
details. Experiments had demonstrated that we tend to ignore elements in our visual
field that seem unimportant, such as a repeated word or line in a text. But even
Dennett didn’t fully realize just how little we actually ‘see.’ A year later, John Grimes
from the University of Illinois drew attention by showing that people who were
presented with computer-generated images of natural scenes failed to notice changes
made while their eyes were, for example, scanning the scene or blinking. Dennett was
pleased: “In hindsight, I wish I had been bolder, as the effects are more pronounced
than I originally claimed.”
Subsequently, it was discovered that our eyes don’t even need to be moving to be
deceived. A typical laboratory experiment might display an image on a computer
screen, like a couple dining on a terrace. The image would briefly disappear, replaced
by a blank screen, then reappear with a significant change, such as a raised railing
behind the couple. Many people search the screen for up to a minute before spotting
the alteration, and some never see it.
This is disconcerting. However, ‘change blindness’ is somewhat artificial because, in
real-life scenarios, a visible motion usually signals a change. Yet, not always. As
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Simons points out, “We all know the experience of missing a traffic signal change
because we briefly looked away. “Inattentional blindness’ refers to not noticing a
feature of a scene when you aren’t paying attention to it.”
Last year, Simons showed people a video of a basketball game and asked them to
count the passes made by one of the teams. After 45 seconds, a man in a gorilla suit
slowly walked behind the players. Forty percent didn’t notice him. When the tape was
replayed, and they were simply told to watch it, they easily saw the gorilla. Some
even doubted it was the same video.
Now, consider if the viewers had been driving a car, and the man in the gorilla suit
had been a pedestrian. Some estimates suggest that nearly half of all fatal motor
vehicle accidents in the US result from driver error, including attention lapses. It’s
more than just academic interest that has spurred research into these cognitive errors.
These errors prompt critical questions: how can we reconcile such significant lapses
with our subjective experience of continuously perceiving a rich visual environment?
Last year, Stephen Kosslyn from Harvard University demonstrated that imagining a
scene activates parts of the visual cortex similarly to actually seeing it. He argues that
this supports the idea that we only absorb the information we consider important and
mentally fill in the gaps where details are less crucial. “The illusion that we see
‘everything’ is partly due to filling in gaps with memory,” he says. “These memories
can be shaped by beliefs and expectations.”
Ronald Rensink from the University of British Columbia in Canada believes our
perception of a detailed visual world comes from constructing internal representations.
He suggests that the brain first creates a temporary layout of the visual scene, and then
our attention enhances the resolution of the scene. “What attention does,” he explains,
“is stabilize these representations so they form distinct objects. Once attention shifts,
they revert to an unstable, unresolved state.”
While Rensink or Kosslyn propose that internal images or memory play some role,
others argue that we can perceive visual richness without storing any of that richness
in our brains. Kevin O’Regan, an experimental psychologist, contends that our brains
do not store a visual image of the world. Instead, we rely on the external visual
environment as different parts of a scene become relevant.
According to O’Regan, our sense of controlling what we see is also an illusion. “We
believe that when something flickers outside the window, we choose to look,” says
Susan Blackmore from the University of the West of England, who supports
O’Regan’s view. “In reality,” she explains, “our change detection mechanisms
automatically drag our attention to various stimuli.”
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Questions 14-17
Look at the following people (Questions 1–4) and the list of claims below.
Match each person with the correct claim, A–G.
Write the correct letter, A–G in boxes 1–4 on your answer sheet.
14. Daniel Dennett
15. John Grimes
16. Stephen Kosslyn
17. Kevin O’Regan
List of Claims
A People overlook changes that happen during eye movements.
B At times, we fail to notice something because we choose to deceive ourselves.
C Retaining every image and memory would hinder our ability to function effectively.
D Sometimes, people overlook the significance of a crucial figure in a scene.
E We misunderstand what we see because we rely on our imagination.
F We don’t have complete control over what captures our attention.
G Imagining a scene and physically being there impact our visual processes in similar
ways
Questions 18 - 22
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
Write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
18. One expert expressed regret for having underemphasized his argument in a
publication.
19. We overlook insignificant items that come into our view.
20. Research into cognitive errors might potentially save lives.
21. The aging process increases the need to fill in gaps in our visual perception.
22. Our eyes are only at risk of being deceived when they are in motion.
Questions 23 - 27
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A–G, below.
Write the correct letter, A–G in boxes 10–14 on your answer sheet.
23. Concentrating on a particular aspect of an activity or scene
24. The fact that we make visual errors
25. The part of the picture that we fail to see clearly
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26. The idea that we see everything in our visual field

27. Research into the nature of human vision
A is not backed by scientific evidence.
B is provided by memory.
C has been especially fruitful in recent times.
D causes us to overlook other details.
E has sparked significant public debate.
F is challenging for us to accept.
G helps us see the overall picture more clearly.

Passage 3:
The Impact of the Potato
Jeff Chapman relates the story of history the most important vegetable
A. The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand
years ago, though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as
13,000 years ago. The genetic patterns of potato distribution indicate that the potato
probably originated in the mountainous west-central region of the continent.
B. Early Spanish chroniclers who misused the Indian word batata (sweet potato) as
the name for the potato noted the importance of the tuber to the Incan Empire. The
Incas had learned to preserve the potato for storage by dehydrating and mashing
potatoes into a substance called Chuchu could be stored in a room for up to 10 years,
providing excellent insurance against possible crop failures. As well as using the food
as a staple crop, the Incas thought potatoes made childbirth easier and used it to treat
injuries.
C. The Spanish conquistadors first encountered the potato when they arrived in Peru
in 1532 in search of gold, and noted Inca miners eating chuchu. At the time the
Spaniards failed to realize that the potato represented a far more important treasure
than either silver or gold, but they did gradually begin to use potatoes as basic rations
aboard their ships. After the arrival of the potato in Spain in 1570，a few Spanish
farmers began to cultivate them on a small scale, mostly as food for livestock.
D. Throughout Europe, potatoes were regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear.
Generally considered to be unfit for human consumption, they were used only as
animal fodder and sustenance for the starving. In northern Europe, potatoes were
primarily grown in botanical gardens as an exotic novelty. Even peasants refused to
eat from a plant that produced ugly, misshapen tubers and that had come from a
heathen civilization. Some felt that the potato plant’s resemblance to plants in the
nightshade family hinted that it was the creation of witches or devils.
E. In meat-loving England, farmers and urban workers regarded potatoes with
extreme distaste. In 1662, the Royal Society recommended the cultivation of the tuber
to the English government and the nation, but this recommendation had little impact.
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Potatoes did not become a staple until, during the food shortages associated with the
Revolutionary Wars, the English government began to officially encourage potato
cultivation. In 1795, the Board of Agriculture issued a pamphlet entitled “Hints
Respecting the Culture and Use of Potatoes”； this was followed shortly by pro-potato
editorials and potato recipes in The Times. Gradually, the lower classes began to
follow the lead of the upper classes.
F. A similar pattern emerged across the English Channel in the Netherlands, Belgium
and France. While the potato slowly gained ground in eastern France (where it was
often the only crop remaining after marauding soldiers plundered wheat fields and
vineyards), it did not achieve widespread acceptance until the late 1700s. The
peasants remained suspicious, in spite of a 1771 paper from the Facult de Paris
testifying that the potato was not harmful but beneficial. The people began to
overcome their distaste when the plant received the royal seal of approval: Louis XVI
began to sport a potato flower in his buttonhole, and Marie-Antoinette wore the purple
potato blossom in her hair.
G. Frederick the Great of Prussia saw the potato’s potential to help feed his nation and
lower the price of bread, but faced the challenge of overcoming the people’s prejudice
against the plant. When he issued a 1774 order for his subjects to grow potatoes as
protection against famine, the town of Kolberg replied: “The things have neither smell
nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?” Trying a less
direct approach to encourage his subjects to begin planting potatoes, Frederick used a
bit of reverse psychology: he planted a royal field of potato plants and stationed a
heavy guard to protect this field from thieves. Nearby peasants naturally assumed that
anything worth guarding was worth stealing, and so snuck into the field and snatched
the plants for their home gardens. Of course, this was entirely in line with Frederick’s
wishes.
H. Historians debate whether the potato was primarily a cause or an effect of the huge
population boom in industrial-era England and Wales. Prior to 1800，the English diet
had consisted primarily of meat, supplemented by bread, butter and cheese. Few
vegetables were consumed, most vegetables being regarded as nutritionally worthless
and potentially harmful. This view began to change gradually in the late 1700s. The
Industrial Revolution was drawing an ever increasing percentage of the populace into
crowded cities, where only the richest could afford homes with ovens or coal storage
rooms, and people were working 12-16 hour days which left them with little time or
energy to prepare food. High yielding, easily prepared potato crops were the obvious
solution to England’s food problems.
I. Whereas most of their neighbors regarded the potato with suspicion and had to be
persuaded to use it by the upper classes, the Irish peasantry embraced the tuber more
passionately than anyone since the Incas. The potato was well suited to the Irish the
soil and climate, and its high yield suited the most important concern of most Irish
farmers: to feed their families.
J. The most dramatic example of the potato’s potential to alter population patterns
occurred in Ireland, where the potato had become a staple by 1800. The Irish
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population doubled to eight million between 1780 and 1841，this without any
significant expansion of industry or reform of agricultural techniques beyond the
widespread cultivation of the potato. Though Irish landholding practices were
primitive in comparison with those of England, the potato’s high yields allowed even
the poorest farmers to produce more healthy food than they needed with scarcely any
investment or hard labor. Even children could easily plant, harvest and cook potatoes,
which of course required no threshing, curing or grinding. The abundance provided by
potatoes greatly decreased infant mortality and encouraged early marriage.

Questions 28 - 32 (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN)

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage
1? Write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
28. The early Spanish called potato as the Incan name ‘Chuchu’
29. The purposes of Spanish coming to Peru were to find out potatoes
30. The Spanish believed that the potato has the same nutrients as other vegetables
31. Peasants at that time did not like to eat potatoes because they were ugly
32. The popularity of potatoes in the UK was due to food shortages during the war
Questions 33 - 40 (Sentence Completion)
Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the
passage for each answer.
33. In France, people started to overcome their disgusting about potatoes because the
King put a potato ________ in his button hole.
34. Frederick realized the potential of potato but he had to handle the ________
against potatoes from ordinary people.
35. The King of Prussia adopted some ________ psychology to make people accept
potatoes.
36. Before 1800，the English people preferred eating ________ with bread, butter
and cheese.
37. The obvious way to deal with England food problems were high yielding potato
________.
38. The Irish ________ and climate suited potatoes well.
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39. Between 1780 and 1841, based on the ________ of the potatoes, the Irish
population doubled to eight million.
40. The potato’s high yields help the poorest farmers to produce more healthy food
almost without ________.